The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to improving uplink communications for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication or Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices. M2M or MTC refers to data communication technologies that allow automated devices to communicate with one another without human intervention. For example, M2M and/or MTC may refer to communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay that information to a central server or application program that can make use of the information or present the information to humans interacting with the program or application. These devices may be called M2M devices, MTC devices and/or MTC user equipments (UEs).
MTC devices may be used to collect information or enable automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, transaction-based business charging, etc. The market for MTC devices is expected to grow rapidly as industries such as automotive, security, healthcare, and fleet management employ MTC to increase productivity, manage costs, and/or expand customer services.
MTC devices may use a variety of wired and/or wireless communication technologies. For example, MTC devices may communicate with a network over various wireless cellular technologies, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or various wireless networking technologies (e.g., IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), etc.). MTC devices may also communicate with one another using various peer-to-peer technologies such as LTE-Direct (LTE-D), Bluetooth, ZigBee, and/or other ad-hoc or mesh network technologies. The expansion of multiple access wireless networks around the world has made it far easier for MTC communication to take place and has lessened the amount of power and time necessary for information to be communicated between machines.
MTC devices may use a narrow frequency band transceiver. As a result, MTC devices may have link budget challenges, particularly for uplink communications to a base station or eNB, for example. Furthermore, MTC devices are generally power efficient and low-cost. As a result, MTC devices are usually equipped with a small power amplifier (PA), or no PA at all, which may further limit uplink communications of MTC devices to only nearby base stations or eNBs.